It's Not Supposed to Be this Way
by Risu Yoru
Summary: AU Neptune is killed during the Black Moon Riots and Haruka is devasted. Thirty years later, Setsuna suddenly reappears with promises of a gift...and it took me three years and another lifetime, but it IS done!
1. Curtain Rise and Prologue

Welcome to the Grand Experiment.  
  
I've never written a multi-part Sailor Moon fic before…well, there was ONE, but let's not dredge up ancient history. Just take my word that it was dub-based and not-too-hot. I was fourteen, it's excusable. ^_~  
  
Disclaimer: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon is in no way, shape, or form mine. Sigh. All the song lyrics are from the enviously-wonderful "Moulin Rouge" unless otherwise stated.  
  
And special thanks, moo-cha-chas, and chocolate covered bishies go out to AngelAnne for both her "YOU ARE GOING TO FINISH THIS!!!!!!"es as well as the snippy she sent me. (you kiddies will love it, once I get to where I can work it in) You rahk big-time, Angel-chan! ^________^ *V*  
  
Reviews are always appreciated. ^_^  
  
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//Curtain rise and prologue//  
  
"This story is about love.  
The woman I loved is...dead."  
~"Nature Boy"  
  
~*~Crystal Tokyo, post-Black Moon Riots~*~  
  
The Funeral Chamber was the one room of Crystal Palace that no one had ever thought they would ever be forced to use. After all, the Palace residents were under the protection of the ginzuishou. The crystal would protect them all, keep them forever young and beautiful, give them ever-lasting life…  
  
This would all be under the assumption that no one ~lost~ the ginzuishou.  
  
But surely, no one could be so irresponsible and naïve that they would lose the crystal of the Moon! Not even a former odango atama could be quite that stupid.  
  
Uranus gazed at the mass of Sailor fukus gathered in the room. Everyone was here: Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Venus, herself…Haruka was even sure she had glimpsed some skimpy vinyl fuku, which would betray a visit from the Starlights. The only one missing from the assembly was Pluto, but then again, Pluto was on duty. Pluto was always on duty.   
  
And she was forbidden to see Pluto.  
  
Saturn was also missing. But Saturn was still in a coma as a result of her failed healing trance.  
  
A few of the senshi, most notably Jupiter and Mars, had tried to converse with her, to give her their sympathies. But Uranus was lost to the world. The assembly all figured that she was with the soldier in the quartz tomb, or at the very least, in the Medical Wing with her surrogate daughter.  
  
They couldn't have been more wrong.  
  
Uranus glared at the pristine queen.  
  
Serenity had lost the ginzuishou.   
  
The one time Uranus had ~ever~ wanted Serenity to appear, pigtails flying, ginzuishou shining, she hadn't come.   
  
And it had cost Uranus everything.  
  
She could not forgive the Queen. Uranus didn't care anymore if it was her destiny to protect Serenity, or that her duty as a soldier dictated her life as that belonging to her Queen. She had lost. Uranus hated to lose, especially to someone weaker than herself.  
  
Without a word, Uranus turned and headed for the Funeral Chamber's exit. She couldn't stay. She wouldn't stay in the same room with the same person whose irresponsibility and complete stupidity had killed the sole person Uranus had ever dared to love.  
  
"I hate you, Serenity," Uranus whispered under her breath, "I hate you."  
  
//curtain fall// 


	2. Act I, Scene I & II: Apprehension

//Act I, Scene I: Apprehension//  
  
"Why does my heart cry?  
Feelings I can't fight..."  
~"El Tango De Roxanne"  
  
~*~Crystal Tokyo, Thirty Years Later~*~  
Red.  
  
Serenity stared in dull fascination at the liquid sloshing in her crystalline goblet. Sweet raspberry wine, her absolute favorite. It didn't have enough alcohol to make her a tipsy, stuttering fool, and it wasn't bitter, like burgundy. And it was the most gorgeous shade of red. It was the red of the sunsets, the red of the roses...  
  
…the red of blood.  
  
Serenity let her azure eyes slide shut, as an attempt to hide from her own thoughts. Today was the day. Today was the one day of the year she always feared. By the old calendar, it would have been the sixteenth of September, by the new…well, it didn't matter. Today was the day ~she~ would return to the Crystal Palace.  
  
"My Queen?"  
  
Serenity took a sip from the goblet, without bothering to open her eyes, "Minako-chan," she acknowledged quietly, "Is she here?"  
  
Sailor Venus gave a small start at the use of her given name. It had been so long since anyone had called her by it, she had almost forgotten what it had been. But calling her soldiers by name was one habit Serenity had never been able to quite kick. Serenity was probably the only one who still remembered what her name was. Not that it mattered.  
  
Venus slowly nodded once, even though she knew Serenity couldn't see her through her eyelids, "She's in the chamber now, my Queen," she stepped forward slightly, the click of her heel reverberating throughout the queen's throne room, "My Queen…Usagi-chan…it has been almost thirty years. Surely she's forgiven you by now."  
  
Serenity finally opened her eyes, and focused her gaze squarely on Venus. Venus could have sworn she had seen those magnificent orbs brimming with unshed tears, but then again, the palace lighting system had much to be desired, "It isn't fair of her to blame you for something that wasn't your fault," she added softly, looking downward.  
  
Serenity took another drink from her goblet, this one finishing her wine. She was silent for a moment, lost in thought, "Minako-chan…" Serenity slowly rose from her ornate silver throne, setting her empty goblet on the small stand just to her left, "Minako-chan…" she repeated wistfully, "How can she be expected to forgive me…when I haven't forgiven myself?"  
  
"It wasn't your fault," Venus persisted.  
  
Serenity stood for a moment, as if unsure as to what she wanted to do next, "Wasn't it?" she mused to herself.  
  
"She was a soldier. They both were soldiers. They knew…better than anyone, what the price could be. It's not fair to blame you for something you had no control over."  
  
Serenity smiled-not her usual bright, beautiful, aura-inspiring smile, but rather a smile of an old, old woman, who had seen far too much in her life time, "I may have had no control," she admitted slowly, "But Minako-chan, I could have stopped it…"  
  
"How?" Venus demanded quietly, "How could you have stopped the Riots without the ginzuishou? Surrendering? The Death Phantom would never have accepted and gods, the casualties would have been astounding! Usagi-chan, there was nothing you could have done!"  
  
"You don't know that," Serenity let her eyes close once more and she sank back into her throne, "I was never meant to be a queen, Minako-chan…queens don't make mistakes."  
  
"You didn't make a mistake!" Venus persisted. She clenched a gloved fist in frustration, "Dammit, Usagi! You may be royalty, but that doesn't mean you have to be perfect!"  
  
"I'm a killer."  
  
Venus stepped back quickly, as if Serenity had struck her.  
  
"Usagi-chan…" she whispered hoarsely, as she tried to think of something appropriate to say. Oh, why couldn't Mars have been the messenger? Mars had always known just how to snap Serenity back from her depression!  
  
But no, Mars was on the other side of the world with Jupiter and Saturn to quell some rioters, so the task had fallen to Venus.  
  
"Please don't say that..." she found herself pleading as she blinked back tears, "Usagi-chan, please don't say that!"  
  
"Why?" Serenity chuckled humorlessly, "If it hadn't been for me..." she shook her head and stood again, "Oh Minako-chan...why did everything have to fall apart?"  
  
Venus felt a traitorous tear make its way down her cheek and it was quickly followed by another. She had no answer for her Queen…not that Serenity would listen if she had.  
  
Serenity nodded once to herself and stepped off her throne's dais, "I'll return shortly," she said and disappeared into the catacombs of her palace with a faint rustling of silk.  
//Act I, Scene II: Confrontation//  
  
Nearly thirty years, and she hadn't changed. Not a single strand of gray in her cropped blonde hair, not a wrinkle, not a hunchback, not even a hobble to betray her true age. If Serenity didn't know better, she could've sworn that the…person…standing just across the room was still a sixteen-year-old hot-shot racer.  
  
Serenity allowed herself a slight smile as she remembered a silly adage her daughter had come up with, "Humans are mere mortals, but senshi are forever."  
  
But, then again, glancing over to the quartz encasement that was the massive room's sole feature...  
  
"I know you're there."   
  
Serenity involuntary grimaced. She even still sounded like the arrogant racer! Serenity didn't know why she was surprised. After all, the other senshi didn't look a day over fifteen, even though all five of the original "Sailor Team" were steadily creeping up on their 1000th birthday. Why should Haruka be any different? Just because she hadn't used her henshin in almost thirty years didn't make her any less soldier than any of the others.  
  
"Hiding doesn't become you, my Queen."  
  
Only Haruka could make a title of office sound like a vicious insult. Serenity hadn't come to the Funeral Chambers to be insulted. She hadn't even come here to be forgiven. She had come here to pay her respects to her most loyal soldier, as she had done far too many times before.  
  
"Haruka," she quietly acknowledged as she stepped from the shadows.  
  
Dead topaz eyes briefly flickered up from the quartz encasement to fix their gaze on her. Serenity shivered. She hated it when Haruka looked at her with that empty gaze…and it was only made worse by knowing that she was the cause of that emptiness.  
  
They glowered at each other from across opposite ends of the room, before Serenity gathered her courage and stepped forward. The soft pearl carpeting muffled her footsteps, but she could hear every one echo for an eternity in her head. Haruka watched her approach with obvious mistrust and loathing.  
  
Serenity stopped right before the quartz encasement, and lightly rested her hand upon it.   
  
Haruka's dead stare flared angrily for a moment, before it dulled again. Well, an angry glare was better that an empty stare any day, despite how brief it may be.  
  
Serenity gazed sadly down at the serene face entombed in the quartz. Time hadn't ravaged ~her~ either. The turquoise hair still fell just so down her shoulders, the tiara still glittered, and the Sailor fuku that had, in its own special way, damned them all, was still a crisp white and teal. Her lids were closed, hiding her large, luminous eyes, and her lips were parted ever so slightly. She reminded Serenity of the princess in a long ago fairy tale, caught in a sleep spell by a poisoned apple, who only needed love's kiss to revive. All she had to do was dissolve the stone…but taking her out of the quartz would be the worst thing Serenity or anyone could do for her.  
  
"I'm sorry," she whispered, and then looked back up to Haruka, "Haruka-san..."  
  
"Don't touch her," Haruka practically spat, and swatted Serenity's hand away, "Don't you ~dare~ touch her."  
  
"I'm sorry!"  
  
"Don't apologize."  
  
Serenity lowered her head, careful not to look at the body, "Are you staying?"  
  
"I'm not welcome."  
  
Serenity's head snapped back up at the comment, but she was too late. Haruka was already turning away, heading for the exit. Serenity knew, after doing this ritual so many times before, that nothing she would do or say would convince Haruka to turn around. For thirty years, every September 16th, it was the same thing: Haruka would sneak into the palace, stare at the quartz tomb, and leave as soon as Serenity made her appearance.  
  
Not that Serenity could really blame her. If Haruka had been responsible for the death of ~her~ beloved, Serenity doubted she'd really be all that eager to see her either.  
  
But still…she had wanted to try to mend things. At least try again.  
  
//"I'm leaving."  
  
A navy blue and violet henshin pen slammed into the oak desk, causing it to shake. Serenity glanced up, startled from her paper work, to her intruder.  
  
"I'm leaving," Haruka repeated harshly, "I won't be your little soldier any more, my Queen," she turned, and started to stalk for the exit, "And don't try to come after me," she added over her shoulder, "I'm not changing my mind."//  
  
From the folds of her massive silk gown, Serenity pulled out the battered henshin pen that had collided with her old desk so many years ago. She brushed her fingers across the planetoid nestled on the pen's top to remove imaginary dust, and gently lay it on top of the quartz.  
  
"I wish you would change your mind, Haruka-san," Serenity whispered, "Michiru-san is lonely by herself here."  
  
//curtain fall// 


	3. Act II, Scene I: Coffee Talk

//Act II, Scene I: Coffee Talk//  
  
"((And I who love you so much; what am I going to do?   
You left me...you left me like a dove   
My soul has left me; my heart has left me…))"  
  
~ "El Tango De Roxanne" (trans. from Latin)  
  
Haruka turned the key, pushed open the door, and strolled into her darkened apartment. She plunked her keys down onto her coffee table, and without even bothering to turn on a light, headed for the kitchen.  
  
She needed coffee.  
  
She fumbled around in the darkness for the coffee maker, and was in the middle of scooping up a cup of grounds, when someone knocked at her door.  
  
Haruka blinked in mild surprise and dumped the coffee grounds into a filter. She never had visitors. No one else in the building really wanted anything to do with the "crabby young bachelor" who resided on the top floor. Not even anyone she used to know or acquaint herself with knew she was here. No one knew except…  
  
"Haruka?"  
  
Haruka smirked.  
  
Of course.  
  
Considering the apartment had been a "gift" from Serenity---a way to make up for her error, as it were---she knew where Haruka was. She had only paid Haruka's rent every month, without fail, for thirty years. And if ~she~ knew where Haruka was then...  
  
"Endymion-sama," she said smugly as she plugged in the coffee maker. It came to life with a happy burble, "Being the King doesn't give you an excuse to break and enter into someone's apartment. What would your wife say?"  
  
The lights abruptly flipped on and Haruka winced. She rarely used the lights. As much as she enjoyed being a minor leech on Serenity's treasury, she preferred darkness. It matched her soul nowadays.  
  
King Endymion, having traded his formal attire for a pair of matted jeans and a violet shirt, loomed in the kitchen's entrance way. Ice blue eyes glared from under raven bangs. Haruka met his heated stare with bored disinterest and pulled a cup from the cupboard above her head, "Coffee?" she asked politely.  
  
Endymion shook his head and Haruka shrugged.  
  
"You were at the Palace earlier," it wasn't a question. Haruka shrugged again and pulled open the silverware drawer to search for a spoon, "I had the guard tripled this year."  
  
"I didn't notice."  
  
"I didn't think you would."  
  
"So why do you bother?"  
  
Silence.  
  
The coffee maker gave one last gurgle, before it too fell silent. Haruka removed the pot from the rest of the maker and poured some of the freshly-made coffee into her cup, "Are you sure you don't want any?" she asked as she began to spoon some sugar into the bitter black liquid.  
  
"Why do you do this?" came the cold question.  
  
"Do what?" Haruka asked as she picked up her coffee cup and none-too-politely elbowed her way past Endymion and into the living room, "Pay respects? It's the sixteenth of September, Endymion-sama. I always pay respects on the sixteenth of September."  
  
Endymion glowered from the kitchen door way for a moment before stepping into the threshold of the living room, "Why do you blame Usako?"  
  
"'Usako'. Haven't heard her called that for a while," Haruka mocked bitterly and sipped at her cup, "Of course, there are some other names extremely fitting to the Queen that she hasn't been called lately, either."  
  
"Answer the question, Haruka."  
  
Haruka could almost see Endymion's hatred for her emanating off him in waves. She paid him no mind. The feeling was mutual.  
  
She sipped at her coffee again, purposely taking her time. Endymion wasn't going any where, after all, "Serenity killed the only person who could give life meaning."  
  
"Neptune was killed by the Black Moon Riots," Endymion said darkly, "Not Usako."  
  
"'Usako'," Haruka put a special, sarcastic emphasis on the name, "lost the ginzuishou that could have ~stopped~ those riots. It's amazing how everyone continues to forget that small fact of life. But oh, I forget, she ~is~ Neo-Queen Serenity, the embodiment of perfection! Let's just erase her irresponsibility and claim the Black Moon's victory was luck! And while we're at it---"  
  
Haruka jumped at the sound of shattering glass. No, Haruka corrected herself. It hadn't been glass...   
  
Endymion stared down at the small pile of shattered pottery that he had swatted off the counter top and on to the hard wood floor.  
  
//"~What~ are you doing?"  
  
Laughing teal eyes glanced up from the mound of clay on the tabletop, "I thought I'd try pottery," came the innocent reply.  
  
"At three in the morning?"  
  
"I was bored," she turned back to her clay lump and sighed melodramatically, "But now I'm frustrated. I can't seem to get this. What do you think, Haruka?"  
  
Haruka leaned forward and her brow scrunched in concentration. However, try as she might, she couldn't figure out what the lump on the table was supposed to be, "A bowl?" she ventured, even though it didn't look a thing like a bowl.  
  
A delicate, clay-covered hand smacked her lightly in the arm, "It's supposed to be a sparrow!"  
  
"A...um...sparrow...?" Haruka squinted, "Oh, I see it now! Yes, love, it's a fine sparrow---"  
  
"You're lying."  
  
Haruka smiled at the pout, "Yes," she agreed, "I am. Now that we've settled that, will you come back to bed?"//  
  
Looking back up from the remains of the shattered sparrow and into Haruka's smoldering glare, Endymion, for the first time in his life, knew genuine fear. His brief flare of temper had made the stalemate of thirty years between senshi and royalty even worse, that much he was sure of.  
  
"Out," Haruka said evenly.  
  
Endymion matched her glare with one of his own, before turning back to the apartment's door.   
  
Haruka stared down at the sorry sparrow and took another drink of her coffee. She wasn't going to clean up the mess. After all, most of her life had already been shattered, what was one clay bird?  
  
She leaned back into the cushions of her cheap couch and sighed.  
  
There was a soft knock at her door.  
  
Haruka cursed rather vehemently. Couldn't Endymion leave her alone? And why was he even bothering to knock?? He obviously had a key! Why not just break the hell back in and shatter some other memento of the past? She didn't care. She really didn't.  
  
Whoever was behind the door knocked again.  
  
"Alright, alright!" Haruka huffed and stomped over to the door, "Jesus, Endymion! What do-" she flung open the door and any other curses she may have been planning to fling died in her throat. It hadn't been Endymion on the other side of her door.  
  
It was Meiou Setsuna.  
  
Sailor Pluto.  
  
Setsuna held up a hand before Haruka could say anything, "Say nothing, just listen," she instructed, "I don't know how long it will take for Serenity's guards to notice I'm gone.  
  
"I have a gift for you, Haruka."  
  
//curtain fall// 


	4. Act II, Interlude: The Past

//Act II, Interlude: The Past//  
  
"We'll fight for   
Freedom   
Beauty   
Truth   
and Love!"  
  
~"Children of the Revolution Medley"  
  
~*~Thirty years ago, Black Moon Riots~*~  
  
"Stop me if I'm wrong here, but weren't we supposed to have a nice, easy life after Chaos?" Uranus asked nonchalantly as she hacked apart another Nemesis Droid with her Space Sword.  
  
"This is coming from the person who spent all of last week whining and moaning about how the most exciting aspect of life was now her lavender bath bombs," Saturn said wryly from behind her.  
  
"I wasn't complaining!" Uranus protested, "I was making a statement of fact!"  
  
"In an unbelievably whinny tone of voice."  
  
Uranus shot a wounded look at Neptune. Neptune for her part, ignored her lover's pitiful expression and cheerfully blasted a Droid with an overly-enthusiastic "Deep Submerge!"  
  
"You're enjoying this?"  
  
Neptune's smile was bordering on feral, "Aren't you?"  
  
Uranus smirked, "I'd prefer to be with you and the bath bombs…"  
  
"Haruka-papa!" Saturn yelped while cleaving through another Droid who had been bent on death, destruction, and mayhem, "SOME of us don't want to hear about it!"  
  
"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Uranus mumbled and raised her Sword skywards, "Space Sword Blaster!"  
  
All the Droids within a thirty foot radius of the three Senshi disintegrated with high-pitched shrieks.  
  
Neptune daintily stepped away from the puddle of goo that had been making for her shoes and lowered her Mirror in disappointment, "Isn't that overdoing it, Haruka?"  
  
Uranus shrugged and sheathed her Sword, "We have other things to do today."  
  
Saturn winced again. Uranus caught the wince and bopped her daughter lightly on the head, "BESIDES that!" she sighed in exasperation, "Now who's being a pervert?"  
  
"It's not my fault!" Saturn said indignately, "Ever other phrase out of your mouth is a damned innuendo!"  
  
"Children, children, children! We DO have other things to do today!" Neptune scolded playfully. She tapped at the small headset that was now tangled in her hair, "Status, Mercury?"  
  
"Your sector is clear!" came Mercury's tiny voice, "The others are holding their own as well…however Sector 001 is..." there was a curious pause, "Neptune, hold for a minute..."  
  
Neptune crinkled her brow in confusion. Mercury had placed her on call-waiting in the middle of an attack? Wait, call-waiting still existed??  
  
Something was wrong.  
  
Neptune's grip tightened on her Mirror and all the playfulness dissolved from her demeanor. Uranus caught the slight change, and her Sword was back out. She roughly elbowed Saturn, and the other Senshi's posture also tensed in anticipation.  
  
"Michiru-san!" Mercury screamed into her ear, "Small Lady is missing!"  
  
Neptune's eyes widened, "The Princess--?"  
  
"And the ginzuishou!"  
  
"Oh my God..." the Mirror clattered from her suddenly numb fingers. There was an unhealthy sounding CRUNCH! and an ugly crack was suddenly running across the Mirror's face.  
  
"Michiru?" Uranus whispered.  
  
"The Princess is missing," Neptune managed to croak out, "As well as the ginzuishou."  
  
The other two Senshi paled.  
  
"ChibiUsa," Saturn whispered hoarsely, "Did the Black Moon--?"  
  
"The main fleet is advancing on the Crystal Palace!" Mercury was shouting into Neptune's ear, "Please fall back! We need back-up! Michiru-san--!"  
  
The connection was severed with a burst of static. Neptune yelped and pulled the headset off.  
  
"We need to get back," she said breathlessly and dashed off, leaving behind her broken Mirror.   
  
"Haruka-papa!" Saturn was frantically pointing up at the sky, "Look!"  
  
Uranus involuntarily looked up, and gasped despite herself. So many ships…and without the ginzuishou to protect them...  
  
The Royal Family was screwed. The ginzuishou kept the shield of the Crystal Palace up, and without that shield there was no hope for victory. No, that wasn't quite right. Even if the shield were to fall, Serenity could channel the ginzuishou's power and blast the Black Moon away. Hell, the only reason why the Black Moon was still up and kicking was Serenity had been trying to find a peaceful solution, short of surrender.  
  
But if Serenity didn't have the ginzuishou...  
  
Uranus took off after Neptune, and Saturn was on her heels.  
  
The lead ship fired.   
  
The ground rumbled and shook as the energy beam collided with the unprotected Palace. The two Senshi were flung to their knees. A chunk of Palace wall was blown clean off and decent size chunks of debris were beginning to rain down. Uranus dropped her Sword and dove back to shelter Saturn. She grimaced as a few shards met the tender flesh of her back, but the more shards that were in her body, then the less there would be in her daughter's.  
  
Several eons later, the rumbling and crashing stopped and there was only smoke and dust to contend with.  
  
"Are you okay?" Uranus wheezed.  
  
Saturn blinked the tears from her eyes and nodded once.  
  
"Good," Uranus nodded and managed to rise painfully to her feet, "Come on…we need to move," she offered a hand up, which Saturn gratefully accepted, and the two began to quickly hobble to the Palace.  
  
They both spotted Neptune at the same time.  
  
Neptune had also been caught by the blast. A hunk of palace-wall about the size of a small desk had fallen on her, neatly crushing and nearly severing her torso. There was no possible way she could have survived...  
  
Uranus froze and something akin to a squeak escaped her lips.  
  
Saturn, on the other hand, burst forward, "Michiru-mama!" she screamed, "Michiru-mama!" she skidded to her knees, "Michiru-mama! Michiru-mama!" she pleaded tearfully and took the dead Senshi's head in her lap, "Michiru-mama…"  
  
A faint purple aura began to surround the pair.  
  
"No..." Uranus murmured, "No-it's not real..."  
  
The aura began to intensify as Saturn struggled to bring her mother back. Amazingly enough, some of the damage was actually healing: some of the blood was beginning to vanish and the flesh was trying to re-knit itself…  
  
But it was just too much.  
  
With a final, whispered "Michiru-mama," Saturn collapsed on Neptune's prone form, comatose.  
  
Uranus stared. Despite the energy blasts from the Black Moon ships, and despite the falling debris, and despite the fact that her Queen needed her NOW, she could only stare.  
  
Michiru was dead.  
  
Dead.  
  
Michiru was dead.  
  
Uranus could feel herself shaking. Michiru was dead. Oh god, no. Michiru...her Michiru....deserved better than to be crushed by the Palace she had tried to defend.  
  
No, no, no.  
  
This wasn't fair.  
  
Michiru was dead.  
  
Michiru...  
  
Uranus fell to her knees and screamed. 


	5. Act II, Scene II & III: Conspiracy and T...

//Act II, Scene II: Conspiracy//  
  
"Love makes us act like we are fools  
Throw our lives away for one happy day…"  
~ "Elephant Love Medley"  
  
Meiou Setsuna was on her doorstep.  
  
Meiou Setsuna. Was. On her doorstep.  
  
Meiou Setsuna. Her door step.  
  
Meiou Setsuna was on her doorstep with promises of a gift.  
  
Gift? Gift.  
  
"What?" Haruka said dumbly.  
  
Setsuna sighed impatiently and elbowed past Haruka, "Hello, Puu," she grumbled as she flipped off the kitchen lights and unplugged the coffee machine, "Wonderful to see you again, Puu. How's life going for you, Puu?" she leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. Her peculiar garnet eyes were glittering with something akin to impatience and she looked…intimidating.  
  
"You hated it when I called you 'Puu'," was all Haruka could think to say.  
  
The two stared at each other though the darkness in silence.  
  
Haruka sipped absentmindly at her rapidly chilling coffee. She hadn't seen Pluto-Setsuna! she corrected herself, since before the Black Moon Riots. Since before Michiru had been…  
  
Not that Haruka hadn't tried to see her. She had spent three days under heavy sedation until Serenity was absolutely assured that Haruka wasn't going to accost the Time Senshi and barrel through the Gates.  
  
A long time ago. Very long.  
  
"Did you have to unplug my coffee machine?"   
  
Setsuna sighed with weary exasperation and popped the plug back into the outlet, "I'm sorry," she grumbled, "But I'm about to commit the biggest sin since that garden incident and it's putting me a trifle on edge."  
  
"Oh, Puu! You're about to be de-flowered?" Haruka asked snarkily. Inwardly, she winced. Her first visitor in thirty years other then Endymion, and Haruka was doing her damned best to piss her off. Never a good idea, especially with Setsuna.  
  
And Setsuna had a gift, did she not…?  
  
Setsuna let the comment pass with a mere dirty look. She was too busy rummaging through the pockets of her civilian outfit for something that was probably quite important.  
  
"If Serenity finds out I'm here, my life will probably be forfeit," Setsuna said quite matter-of-factly, "But my duties as a friend vastly outweigh my duties as a Sailor Senshi...ah!" Setsuna finally found what she was looking for in the lapel-pocket of her dress jacket: a tiny, golden key.  
  
She held it out to Haruka, "For you, if you want it."  
  
Haruka recognized the key instantly and felt her face pale, "A Time Key...?" she asked hoarsely, "You're giving me…?"  
  
"Yes," Setsuna nodded solemnly.  
  
"Why??"  
  
Setsuna actually looked away. She was still holding the Key, but Haruka was making no move toward it. She had vowed long ago to not mess with time-any aspect of time! There were too many risks to the present and...and...  
  
…if she took the Key she could save Michiru and forever alter...  
  
No! No, it was wrong to sacrifice the future for one person!  
  
…but wasn't it as equally wrong for Michiru to be dead...?  
  
Haruka violently shook her head, trying to clear it. Time-tampering meant headaches, and headaches were something she was loathe to put up with...  
  
"I know what it's like to feel lonely..." Setsuna said quietly, "It wasn't fair what happened...you deserve one more day..."  
  
"One more day?"  
  
Setsuna's quiet mood shattered and she whipped back around to face Haruka, "I can't let you save her, Haruka!" she snapped, clenching her fist around the Key, "I would give anything to let you save her, but I can't! I CAN'T!!" she choked back a sob, "I can't sacrifice the future that much..."  
  
"So why are you doing this...?" Confusion was not an apt word to describe Haruka's current state of mind.  
  
"You need a chance to say good-bye," Setsuna whispered harshly. She held up the Key once more and it glinted in the darkness, "Don't you understand, Haruka? You can't save her...but you can let her go."  
  
What happened after that, Haruka couldn't say. One moment she was reaching for the tempting Key, the next she was backhanding Setsuna. Her coffee mug crashed to the floor, and the tiny Key went flying into the darkness.   
  
"I don't want to let her go!" Haruka found herself screaming, "I want her back! I want her back!!!" she gathered up a fistful of Setsuna's blouse and whipped the Senshi to her feet, "How dare you come here and tempt me! I have nothing, Pluto, nothing! Why are you dangling Michiru in my face if you're just going to take her away again?!"  
  
Setsuna was crying.  
  
Something about seeing the stoic and impenetrable Sailor Pluto cry snapped something in Haruka. She let out a shaky breath and willed her fingers to unfurl.  
  
Setsuna ran a rough hand across to eyes in an effort to quench her tears, "I wanted to see you live again," Setsuna murmured. She smoothed out her crinkled blouse and kneeled to wear the Time Key had fallen, "I thought you would want to see her one last time…I wanted you to have…" she groped for a word, "Peace."  
  
Haruka felt defeated, which puzzled her. But there was no anger, no malice…just a sickening sense that she had let something so very important slip by and she was going to regret it for the rest of her life. And, considering she still fell under the protection of the ginzuishou, that was a considerably long time.  
  
"I can't save her," it wasn't a question.  
  
"No," Setsuna confirmed, "There are just too many paradoxes to take into account. I've spent the past thirty years trying to figure out a better solution…" she trailed off.  
  
"But I can see her. How?"  
  
"Easy...visit her while she was on a solo mission for the Queen. She won't know and you won't have to worry about bumping into yourself."  
  
"But won't seeing her jeopardize the future?"  
  
Setsuna shook her head, "The damage would be insignificant."  
  
Haruka raised a bemused eyebrow, "Compared to what?"  
  
"I guess we'll see," Setsuna said a bit wryly, "No one has been able to tamper with Time before," she held up the Key once more, "Are you going?"  
  
"I no longer have a henshin."  
  
"Neither did Small Lady."  
  
"The Queen is going to be pissed off."  
  
"I don't care."  
  
"I don't have any flowers."  
  
Setsuna smiled, "Visit a local florist when you get there," she stood and held out the Key in the palm of her hand.  
  
Haruka took a deep breath. This was it. This was treason. When Serenity found out, they were both dead. Literally.  
  
She closed her fingers around the Key.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
//Act II, Scene III: Timeskip//  
  
~*~Thirty-one years ago, Honolulu, Pre-Black Moon Riots~*~  
  
If there was one thing Sailor Neptune hated, it was being sent to a tropical paradise with a bushel of paperwork for a date.  
  
Neptune sighed wearily as she thumbed through another report of a supposed riot. Off to the west was a fantastic orange and red sunset, but no, her attention was captivated by white paper and black Times New Roman font. Outside her hotel, the ocean crashed against the beach, but no, Neptune couldn't go outside to enjoy it, lest her papers blow away. In her closet were about six bathing suits, each begging to go outside, but no, she was on official business right now, so she was stuck in her fuku.  
  
"Why did they send me?" she mumbled miserably, "I'm in Hawaii and I can't enjoy it...Mercury...why couldn't they have sent Mercury??"  
  
Of course she knew the answer. Mercury had her gloves full with trying to install the new intercom system in the Crystal Palace. The other three Inner Senshi were stuck babysitting Small Lady. Saturn was off doing…whatever Saturn did in her free time nowadays. (Neptune had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with the college stadium by the palace where the male softball team was trying out) And Uranus? Uranus was also on assignment, on the other side of the bloody world!  
  
It wasn't fair.  
  
There was a soft knock at her hotel room door, and Neptune practically tossed her current report aside in her rush to answer it. A distraction, ANY distraction was better than this doggerel. She unchained the chain, unlatched the latch, pulled open the door and gasped in surprise.  
  
On the other side of the door, Haruka smiled softly.  
  
//curtain fall// 


	6. Act III, Scene I & II: Reunion and Caugh...

//Act III, Scene I: Reunion//  
  
"How wonderful life is now you're in the world."  
~"Your Song"  
  
~*~Thirty-one years ago, Honolulu, Pre-Black Moon Riots~*~  
  
It's amazing the things one remembers and forgets.  
  
For example, Haruka had never forgotten Michiru's scent. It was...was...it was a peculiar, yet wonderfully arousing combination of honeysuckle, jasmine, and the sea breeze. There was no way to accurately define the scent, it was just…there. It was just Michiru.  
  
However, over the years, Haruka had forgotten about Michiru's tendency to drool slightly in her sleep.  
  
And people always said you were supposed to remember the little things.  
  
Haruka smiled wistfully and pulled Michiru's sleeping form closer. Drool or no, Michiru was here, ~alive~, and in her arms. There was no quartz encasing to keep Haruka from running her fingers through those glorious aqua tresses or entwining Michiru's fingers in her own. There had been no Palace Guards to try to keep her out of Michiru's suite. And Serenity? Serenity was worlds away, involved in her own trivial affairs. For the first time in thirty years, Haruka felt truly alive.  
  
Maybe, just maybe, everything would truly be alright?   
  
The Key dangling from a chain around her neck told her otherwise.  
  
Haruka squeezed her eyes shut and burrowed her face into the crook of Michiru's warm neck. She didn't want to think about it!  
  
Pluto had promised her twenty-four hours. Twenty-four scant hours to say goodbye to the love of her life. It didn't seem fair, but then again, it was a hell of a better deal then the last time.  
  
But it all added up to the same in the end, didn't it? When Haruka went home, Michiru would still be dead. The only difference is this time Serenity would be mighty angry with her...  
  
Haruka didn't care.  
  
She had nearly broken down in thankful tears when Michiru had first opened the door. Along with the drool, Haruka had forgotten just how intensely blue Michiru's eyes had been. They had been closed so long…but now they were open, and sparkling, and filled with so much love…it had been all Haruka could do to hand Michiru the lilies she had hoisted from a local florist...  
  
And then Michiru had smiled in delight.  
  
Haruka had lost it then. She had taken Michiru by the waist and kissed her with thirty years worth of repressed passion and terrible loneliness…  
  
...and kissed her...  
  
...and kissed her...  
  
One thing Haruka had never forgotten over the years was the taste of Michiru's kiss. Almost...tropical.  
  
And now here she was, in Michiru's suite, in Michiru's bed, and finally feeling whole once more.  
  
Gods, how she had missed this.  
  
"I love you," she whispered faintly.  
  
"You snuck away from duty in Wisconsin to fly to Honolulu to tell me something I already knew?"  
  
Haruka started. In her arms, Michiru twisted around to face her with a quirky grin on her lips.  
  
Apparently, she had also forgotten about what a light sleeper Michiru could be.  
  
Michiru giggled, "Idiot," she murmured affectionately as she reached up to caress Haruka's face with her free hand, "Serenity's going to have kittens when she finds out."  
  
Serenity...  
  
Oh yes, she'd be having kittens alright. However, these kittens would be a result of a completely different scenario than the one Michiru was envisioning.  
  
But if Serenity hadn't lost the ginzuishou at the most ~crucial~ moment, wouldn't this all be moot? Michiru never would've been…  
  
But now it was too late to waste laments on the past! She should say her goodbyes to Michiru and get on with her wretched existence!  
  
But she was in the past NOW. Couldn't she…jump forward a bit and maybe shove Michiru away or something minor like that?  
  
No, that would never work because the future would become altered...  
  
Why did one woman have to matter so much??? Serenity had been allowed to keep Endymion through life and death and life! Why couldn't Haruka have Michiru?? Why did that damned Moon Child get ~everything~ despite her numerous faults! It wasn't fair! It wasn't fucking fair!!!  
  
"Haruka...why are you crying...?"  
  
"Wha...?" Haruka shook herself from her reverie and was surprised at the moisture she felt on her face. She took a breath to explain it away…but somehow the message became scrambled and she wound up crying even harder.  
  
"Hey now...sshhh..." Michiru cooed soothingly as she twisted the rest of the way around so she could hold Haruka, "Everything's okay..."  
  
How could she say that?? Haruka violently shook her head back and forth. It's not okay!!! she wanted to scream. None of this is okay!!!  
  
But a choked sob was all that managed to escape.  
  
"Did something happen at the Palace?" Michiru asked quietly, "Enemies? What happened?"  
  
It was tempting.  
  
Haruka wanted to grab Michiru's shoulders, stare into those beautiful eyes, and BEG her to never, never, NEVER return to the Palace. She'd throw her Key into the ocean and they could stay here, forever and ever and ever...  
  
...just like in a fairy tale...  
  
Pluto would be pissed off, but this whole incident had been her idea! Serenity had been pissed, but the other incident had been her fault!  
  
But---!  
  
Haruka clung to Michiru in desperation. What to do?? What was she supposed to do?  
  
"Haruka, please talk to me..."  
  
Haruka swallowed.  
  
"...tell me you love me..." she found herself pleading.  
  
Michiru blinked in surprise, but quickly shook it off. She tightened her hold on Haruka and continued to make soft, comforting noises, "Of course I love you," she whispered soothingly, "I'll always love you. You know that."  
  
Even dead? Haruka was tempted to ask, but she bit the comment back. It didn't matter.  
  
It had been so long since she had heard...  
  
Haruka let out a slow breath and felt her features contort into a sincere smile, "Thank you…..." she murmured, and "You have no idea how much that means to me..."  
  
Michiru didn't ask. She didn't want to know. All she knew was that Haruka had been upset and had needed her, and now Haruka was fine. That was all she needed.  
  
"Let's visit the shore tomorrow," she said brightly, "You'll love the sea-breeze and I know you'll love my souvenir swimming suit," she finished with a conspiratable wink.  
  
Haruka quickly ran through her time-table in her head. She had to be gone by late evening tomorrow…  
  
...if she chose to go back.  
  
...which she was seriously considering not doing…  
  
"Sounds lovely," she agreed and graced Michiru's cheek with a quick kiss.  
  
Michiru giggled and snuggled back into Haruka's embrace. Scant moments later, she was asleep and drooling once more.  
  
Haruka spent the rest of the night simply watching.  
  
//Act III, Scene II: Caught//  
  
~*~At the Time Gate~*~  
  
Pluto only paced when she was troubled. She generally considered pacing an unproductive nusance, and she had been known to trip Haruka when she started, back when the Outer Senshi had accosted a modest mansion. Pacing was dizzing, irritating, and it didn't burn NEARLY enough calories to be beneficial.  
  
But right now, Pluto was pacing a storm.  
  
Don't you dare be thinking what I'm thinking you're thinking, Tenou Haruka! she mentally cursed.  
  
Damn, but the more she thought about this plan, the dumber and dumber it seemed. She should've gone back with Haruka to make sure that not only did she find Michiru, but she also managed to drag herself away. Now? Now she had probably thrown the fate of the whole fucking cosmos at a heartbroken soul's whim...  
  
Could Haruka be that irresponsible?  
  
Pluto hoped to Serenity not.  
  
But even though her plan was becoming increasingly stupid by the nanosecond, Pluto found it hard to regret her actions. As a Sailor Senshi, it was her duty to preserve the peace. ~All~ peace. And "peace" was not on speaking terms with Haruka.  
  
Besides, what was Serenity going to do? Have her executed?   
  
Well, probably.  
  
Pluto spun on her heel so she could begin pacing in the other direction and found a Flame Sniper pointing at her nose.  
  
Pluto refused to show surprise.  
  
Behind the Sniper, violet eyes narrowed, "You," Mars intoned lowly, "Are wanted by the Queen."  
  
//curtain fall// 


	7. Act IV, Scene I: On the Beach

"Why live life from dream to dream  
And dread the day when dreaming ends?"  
~"One Day I'll Fly Away"  
  
//Act IV, Scene I: On the Beach//  
  
~*~Thirty-one years ago, Honolulu, pre-Black Moon Riots~*~  
  
If the illusion fits, wear it.  
  
For the first time in thirty years, Haruka was having a spectacular day. Michiru had woken up early, they ordered room service, and had a delightful breakfast in bed. Fresh melon and strawberries, warm cinnamon muffins, and the best damn coffee this side of paradise. And then, with a wink and a giggle, Michiru had dragged Haruka out into the early morning sun so they could properly peruse the boardwalk.   
  
Along with the drooling and light sleeping, Haruka had forgotten about Michiru's penchant for shopping.  
  
After six stores, Michiru not only found a properly boyish swimming suit for Haruka, but a rather risqué aqua-colored two-piece with a matching sarong for herself. She also scrounged up two pairs of black-wire sunglasses with opaque lenses, a bundle of hair ties, and a sinfully adorable mermaid plushie, which she had given to Haruka as thanks for sneaking over.  
  
As much as a boardwalk whore as Michiru could be, she was dying for the beach. So after a quick stop in yet another store for matching blue fluffy towels, sunscreen, and coconut oil, Michiru had lugged Haruka to the shore line, spread out the towels, shoved the sunscreen into Haruka's hand, and demanded service.  
  
Haruka had loved every moment of it. And she naturally loved having Michiru rub the goop into her own skin as well.  
  
Properly lathered, Michiru sprang for the water, Haruka right on her heels.  
  
Insanity had henceforth ensued.  
  
The Senshi of the Ocean actually ~in~ the ocean was a scary sight to behold.  
  
After an hour and a half of water going up her nose, thanks to being repeatably dragged under the waves, Haruka finally managed to convince Michiru for a break.  
  
And so now here they were.  
  
Michiru had replaced her sunscreen coating with the coconut oil and was stretched out on her towel, sunning happily. And even though Haruka couldn't see Michiru's eyes through her sunglasses, she had a sneaking suspicion that she was sleeping. After all, she was slightly drooling.  
  
Haruka idly fingered the aquamarine tresses of her mermaid plushie. A wonderful day thus far, save for one minor detail: she felt like she was being watched.  
  
Granted, there had to be several hundred people on the beach by now, and Haruka had spotted several of the young men variety lustfully eyeing Michiru, but still…  
  
She shook the feeling off. Maybe she was simply feeling an admirer gazing lustfully upon her. Doubtful, considering the glorious water goddess napping beside her, but there were always possibilities...  
  
Or maybe Serenity had found her.  
  
Haruka's eyes narrowed at the thought. Pluto had promised her twenty-four hours. She promised! Could Serenity even be so cruel?  
  
No. It couldn't be Serenity. Serenity wouldn't know the first place to look for her. After all, if the Queen couldn't keep track of the ginzuishou, how could she find a stray Senshi?  
  
"Haruka?" Michiru murmured drowsily as she managed to roll over so she could properly tan her back, "I think it's time for lunch."  
  
Haruka's stomach agreed with her.  
  
"Bring me something?" Michiru asked sweetly.  
  
"You're not supposed to eat on the beach," Haruka reminded her coyly.  
  
"I'm a Sailor Senshi…they don't like it, they can have a Deep Submerge to the ass."  
  
"Alright, alright, I'll bring her majesty something to eat," Haruka set down her plushie, and started to brush sand from her legs, "Do you want anything in particular?"  
  
"I want a gyro."  
  
Haruka raised an eyebrow, "A new swimming suit and an acre of sand, and you want the world's gooiest sandwich?" she asked incredulously, "You're mad."  
  
"I'm HUNGRY," Michiru insisted, "Trying to drown you is hard work."  
  
Haruka shook her head wryly and stood, "Do they even SELL gyros in Honolulu?"  
  
Michiru shrugged, "You're a Sailor Senshi. If they don't, World Shake someone until they do."  
  
Haruka bit back a comment about how she no longer had a henshin. In this time period-when she was supposed to be dealing with a rampaging goat herder in Wisconsin-she did still have a henshin.   
  
"I think that constitutes an abuse of powers."  
  
"When it comes to food, no it doesn't." Michiru lowered her sunglasses just enough to throw Haruka a wink, "I want lots of goop, too."  
  
"Lots of goop," Haruka confirmed, "I'll see what I can do."  
  
And with that, she was off on her quest to find a Greek food on a Hawaiian island.  
  
The wind rustled and Haruka froze halfway to the boardwalk. Dammit, someone WAS watching her!  
  
And it didn't feel like a lustful stare, either.  
  
Haruka narrowed her eyes and her fist closed on the Key dangling from the delicate chain on her neck. Could this be a pre-emptive strike of the Black Moon? Michiru had never said---  
  
Of course that was in the original time line. Michiru probably had never spent her assignment time on the beach, longing for gyros the first time around. Haruka ground her teeth in exasperation. How did Pluto keep up with this crap?  
  
But that didn't change the fact that yes, someone was still watching.  
  
Haruka slid her sunglasses down her nose and scanned the beach. Save for the moronic teenagers, the wailing children, and the people who most definitely should NOT be squeezing themselves into spandex suits, she could spot nothing out of the ordinary…  
  
Waitaminute.  
  
About thirty or so paces from where Michiru was sunning, there was an abandoned plush green towel. And the owner of that towel, a rather statuesque brunette with a bouncy ponytail, was striding purposely over to where Haruka was standing.  
  
Kino Makoto.  
  
And odds are, it probably wasn't this time's Kino Makoto.  
  
"Fuck," was all Haruka could think to say as Makoto approached. Pluto had obviously been apprehended and now Serenity had sent good old Sailor Jupiter back to keep deranged old Haruka from screwing up the timeline.  
  
"Haruka-san," Makoto greeted with a cordial nod of her head.  
  
"Kino-san," Haruka returned the nod.  
  
"The Queen wishes to have a word with you."  
  
Those words killed the hope that maybe this was the past's…present?...Makoto. Again, fuck.  
  
"Does she now?" Haruka murmured and pushed her sunglasses back up. Makoto's eyes narrowed slightly and Haruka smirked. There was just something about trying to intimidate someone when you couldn't see their eyes, "Tell her I'm busy."  
  
Makoto latched onto Haruka's upper arm with an iron grip. Haruka refused to wince at the bruises she could already feel forming, "The Queen wants to see you NOW."  
  
"I don't care."  
  
"Are you mad??" Makoto exploded, doing her best to keep her voice at a decent level, "Do you have ANY idea just what the hell you are doing?!"  
  
"Looking for a Greek vendor in Hawaii?"  
  
Haruka could see that Makoto was just itching to slap her, "What is wrong with you?! What makes you think that you can just waltz back in time and damn the future?!"  
  
"Because I HAVE no future!" Haruka spat vehemently and yanked her arm from Makoto's hold, "Do you know what it's like, Kino-san, to wake up every day knowing that the only person you loved is dead because of another's blatant stupidity?? Do you know what it's like to be hollow? To be ALONE? Dammit, Kino-san, do you have any idea what it's like to love and LOSE?"  
  
"YES!" Makoto nearly screamed, "Yes, Haruka, I understand completely! You and your goddamned martyr complex! Do you think you're the only one who has lost someone beloved?! But you don't see me pleading with Setsuna-san to take me back! You don't see me being so fucking selfish and I loved him just as much as you loved her!"  
  
Haruka actually had to take a step back at that.  
  
Makoto was the essence of fury. Her eyes were narrowed, but shining with frustrated tears, and her fists were clenched so tightly, that several droplets of blood had fallen to the sand.  
  
"He was killed by a riot protesting Usagi's rise to power," Makoto continued coldly, "Someone bludgeoned him to death with a two by four, Haruka-san. A fucking two by four. The only reason they connected him with the Queen was they had seen him with me," a single tear slipped down her cheek, but she paid it no mind, "He was killed because of me. Do you have any idea how that feels, Haruka-san?" she choked back the sob threatening to escape, "Do you have any idea?"  
  
"I'm...I'm....I didn't...I'm sorry," Haruka finished lamely. All the giddiness and happiness and cheeriness and completedness she had felt from this morning left her in a sudden wave.  
  
Makoto was right. She was being selfish. She was mad. She was in the wrong. She had taken advantage of Pluto to have something that wasn't hers. She should have refused, but no. She was weak.  
  
And what did she have for it?  
  
Nothing. She couldn't save Michiru. She had obviously hurt Makoto. She had probably gotten Pluto killed.  
  
It was time to go home.  
  
"Can I say goodbye?" Haruka whispered, defeated.  
  
Makoto swallowed once and nodded her head, "I'll wait."  
  
Haruka wordlessly turned and made her way back to Michiru. 


	8. Act V, Scene I: Let Me Kiss Away Your Te...

"Thank you for curing me of my ridiculous obsession with love!"  
~Christian, to Satine  
  
//Act V, Scene I: Let Me Kiss All Your Tears Away...//  
  
~*~Present day, post-Black Moon Riots ~*~  
  
She couldn't do it.  
  
When Haruka had gone back to Michiru to say goodbye, Michiru fallen back asleep. Instead of waking her, Haruka had gathered her things-plushie, towel, sunglasses, anything that might have indicated her presence-and left with Makoto.  
  
She just couldn't do it. She couldn't say goodbye. She couldn't let Michiru go.  
  
The trip back through the Time Gate had been silent. Pluto had been replaced at her post by Venus, who was doing her best to look at everything besides the wayward duo. Haruka couldn't blame her.  
  
Jupiter had left her alone upon their return to the palace, which had surprised her. No guards, no shackles, just a "wait here, please" as the other Senshi left, presumably to find the Queen.  
  
Needless to say, Haruka didn't feel like waiting in the foyer of the Crystal Palace to listen to Neo-Queen Serenity pronounce judgment upon her. There was one place she wanted to go and one person she wanted to see. Beyond that, she really didn't care.  
  
It's ironic, really, Haruka mused wryly to herself as she pushed open a set of heavy mahogany doors, I'm right back where I started.  
  
The Funeral Chamber was naturally devoid of person or substance, save for the sole quartz tomb in the middle.  
  
She looked exactly the same as she had this morning while she had been asleep on the beach. Well, save for the fact that she was clad in her fuku and not that damned sexy two-piece-Haruka glanced down at her own apparel and laughed despite herself. Here she was, in the Funeral Chambers of the CRYSTAL PALACE of all palaces, and she was still attired in a thirty-one-year-old swimming suit. Hell, even the sunglasses were still perched daintily in her hair. The complete contrast was just absurd.  
  
Haruka felt herself beginning to laugh harder. This whole situation was ridiculous! Preposterous! This morning Michiru had been alive, had been shopping, swimming, demanding Greek food and now she was dead! Deader then a doornail, deader then the Silence, deader then, well, dead! Dead, dead, dead, and there was nothing the lowly Tenou Haruka, former champion racer of Japan, former the gorgeously-acting Sailor Uranus, former this and former that, could do! Silly! Absurd! Had she really gone back in time to put her ill soul at ease? That never worked in literature! That never worked in myth! Why should it work for her? It wouldn't! It wouldn't, it wouldn't, it wouldn't! Once love was lost, it was lost! Gone! Kaput! Izanagi had gone to hell to save his wife, but he had failed and Izanagi had been a god! If a god couldn't save his love, what luck did one puny woman hope to have?  
  
Haruka fell to her knees, cackling like a demented madwoman. And, considering the way her sanity was beginning to crumble, the comparison wasn't that far off.  
  
Ah, her Michiru. While not trapped in hell with Izanami, she was still out of reach all the same. Michiru was trapped in the past and in memory. Michiru has left the building, ladies and gentlemen, oh yes she has. True, that was her body in the quartz, and as beautiful as her body was, it wasn't Michiru. Actually, it was very little more than a lovely slab of meat, just oh-so-perfectly preserved from the ravages of time by an enchanted crystal.  
  
Time.  
  
Damn Pluto, anyways! What had been the point in that futile exercise? To vividly remind Haruka of what she had lost only to rip it away at the last second? How cruel. And Setsuna had claimed to be a friend! The nerve!  
  
Haruka was beginning to feel lightheaded.  
  
One claw-like hand raised and latched on to one of the shards of quartz jutting from Michiru's tomb. Still chortling slightly, Haruka managed to pull herself up onto wobbly legs and forced herself to gaze inside the crystal.  
  
"You are so beautiful," she whispered hoarsely ran her fingers over the quartz, "Ohhh, I wish I could get you out of there..."  
  
Or join you...a tiny voice from some mysterious place supplied.  
  
"Or join you..." Haruka found herself agreeing. She giggled, "It'd be a tight fit, wouldn't it? Not that I mind...oh, gods..." she let her forehead rest against the smooth, cool surface, "I miss you...god, I miss you...." she slammed her fist against the tomb in helplessness, "I want to see you so much! I want to..." she trailed off as she realized just what she had done. Haruka had hit her! She had hit Michiru!   
  
"I'm sorry!" she breathed and frantically kissed where her fist had connected, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"  
  
"Haruka-san...?"  
  
Haruka felt her insides freeze. How had she...?  
  
There was a rustle of silk against the carpeting, and the Queen glided over to the tomb. But she didn't touch. She didn't want to shatter whatever was left of Haruka.  
  
"Haruka-san...?" Serenity prodded gently, "Can you hear me...?"  
  
Deciding there was nothing to be gained nor any hurt to be inflicting by not answering, Haruka nodded once.  
  
"Okay. That's good. You don't have to answer me if you don't want to...I just want to talk to you. Is that..." she fumbled for a decent word, "Is that...alright?"  
  
Another nod.  
  
"You went back into the past to see her," it wasn't a question, "Setsuna must love you so dearly to risk everything like that. Did you get a chance to say...to say goodbye?" Serenity felt herself wincing. For some reason, that had come out a bit colder than she had intended.  
  
"No," Haruka whispered brokenly, "Your little lackey stopped me..."  
  
Something sparked. A tiny ember in Haruka began to blaze. She was feeling...angry. Furious really. And it felt divine.  
  
"You took her away from me a second time, you little bitch!" Haruka found herself screaming, "It's bad enough that you killed her the first time, but did you have to take her again?! I was going to come back!" she clutched at the quartz fiercely, "I was going to come back..."  
  
Serenity had to take a step back at Haruka's outburst. However, her heel had caught in her gown's hem and she tumbled backwards. In the old days, she would've burst into dramatic tears and wailed, but this time, she simply looked away, "That wasn't my idea, Haruka-san," she murmured, "The other Senshi didn't want to take the risk of the timeline becoming contaminated so they arrested Pluto and went after you…" a lone tear made its way down her cheek and splashed into the pearl carpeting beneath her, "I wanted you to stay."  
  
"How can I believe that?"  
  
"I don't know," Serenity admitted hoarsely, "But I've never lied to you, Haruka-san! You were-still are-very important to me! You and..." she cast a reluctant look to the quartz, "You and Michiru-san both. I wanted you to have one more day! If Setsuna-san had just told me--!"  
  
Haruka was no longer listening. Instead, she was caressing the quartz as delicately as she would Michiru's cheek, "You are so beautiful," she repeated to herself, "And I want to see you and be with you so badly..."   
  
Something popped.  
  
Both Haruka and Serenity blinked in surprise and glance up.  
  
Hovering just a few inches over the tomb was the Space Sword.  
  
Haruka inhaled sharply. Was this a sign? Had Michiru sent her some odd sign from the afterlife? Was her way of answering? Was this how Haruka could join her once again and this time never, ever be parted?  
  
Haruka reached up and grabbed the hilt of the Sword in a trembling hand. Gods, it felt wonderful to hold her Talisman again. So solid, so real, so...  
  
The blade seemed to be shinning with an almost holy light.  
  
Haruka drew the blade down to eye-level. She could be quick. She was strong enough to drive her blade completely through herself, and well, what do you know, Tenou Haruka would probably have a quartz tomb of her very own!  
  
But she would be with Michiru and that was all the counted.  
  
She drew back the blade-  
  
"No!"  
  
--and suddenly there was a dead weight on her sword arm, effectively preventing her from neatly skewering herself.  
  
Serenity. Of course.  
  
"Get off!" Haruka snarled and tried to fling the Queen away.  
  
But Serenity had gained strength over the years. Unlike the last time they had fought over a weapon-Eudial's Deathbuster Rifle, for instance-Serenity held on. And no matter how Haruka shook, pushed, or hit, she just would not let go.  
  
"No Haruka-san I won't let you pay for something that was my fault oh please please don't do this I'm sorry the others pulled you away and I love you put the Space Sword away I love you I love you she wouldn't want this-" Serenity broke down and began to sob.  
  
The blade began to lose its light.  
  
"Please, Haruka-san!"  
  
Long ago, she had a mission to protect this person. And what had she gotten for her efforts? She had learned what it was like to lose everything.  
  
Long ago, she had once scoffed at weakness. Cowards took the easy way out and Tenou Haruka had never been a coward! Granted yes, that sometimes she ran, but she refused to lose. And her stubbornness was one of the traits that the mortal goddess that the Senshi of the Seas had fallen in love with…  
  
The Space Sword tumbled to the carpeting and Haruka found her arm embracing her hysterical Queen.  
  
Serenity gasped in surprise, but didn't let that stop her from embracing Haruka in a ferocious hug, "I am so, so, so, so sorry!" she sniffled miserably, "I wish I could give her back..."  
  
"I know," Haruka whispered back. And, strangely enough, she believed it.  
  
Michiru had died a soldier. A valiant soldier, protecting her Queen from an invasion. They both had known what the costs could be, and granted while that didn't make it any easier...  
  
Haruka felt her anger disappear, but she didn't feel better. No, she felt empty. Lost. And very, very alone.  
  
"Come back to the Palace," Serenity pleaded, "You don't have to fight anymore, but come back to the Palace..."  
  
Haruka squeezed her eyes shut to prevent the tears she felt from spilling over, "I can't...I..." she took another glance at Michiru over Serenity's shoulder.  
  
So close at yet so far...  
  
"There's no way to make this right..." she whispered hoarsely before she roughly shoved Serenity away and bolted.  
  
Serenity watched Haruka run. She could summon the guards. She could call out for the Senshi. She could easily detain Haruka and force her to stay put.  
  
But she wasn't ready to stay.  
  
There was no way to make this right.  
  
Serenity caught a glimmer of metal out of the corner of her eye. The Space Sword lay abandoned on the floor. Serenity slowly kneeled and wrapped her fingers around the jeweled hilt. The Sword was heavier than she expected…Haruka had always flung it around with such ease...  
  
"Maybe there is a way..." she murmured to herself and clutched the Sword to her breast.  
  
Maybe there was.  
  
//curtain fall//  
~*~Intermission~*~  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
And that, dear readers, concludes Act V.   
  
Many, many, MANY thanks go out to AngelAnne for her ideas (think I could think up that Space Sword Scene by myself??), her encouragement (Finish this or I'll sic a rabid Treize on you), and her snippy. (which will be Act VI once I get it up, by the way! ^_^) This fic is affectionately dedicated to her and everyone should either a-pay homage or b-pass over chocolate covered bishies for her. ^_^ Heh.  
  
And hold onto your holding-onto-accessories, because this is about to take an incredibly wild twist. :) Muhaha.  
  
*= The title from this act is derived from a lyric in Celine Dion's "Stand By Your Side".  
  
*= According to Japanese myth, Izanagi and Izanami were the gods who created the world. However, Inzanami died of a fever, and in his grief, Izanagi charged into the underworld to get her back. She told him not to look at her until she was free, but he did, and was revolted at her rotting corpse. So he fled, slammed a boulder into the entrance to the underworld, and henceforth, the first couple divorced! (from Shelia Keenan's "Gods, Goddesses, and Monsters")  
~Mars 


	9. Act VI, Scene I & II: Fixed& Shattered

((Author's Note: All hail AngelAnne))  
  
"All you need is love!"  
"Please, don't start that again."  
  
~pre "Elephant Love Medley"  
  
//Act VI, Scene I: Fixes...//  
  
"Pluto..."  
  
Pluto winced and clenched the Time Key in her fists. She'd been forbidden to help Haruka, and as much as it had pained her, she'd followed the rule for thirty years.   
But she had to go and blow it. She knew, even from the moment the thought first entered her head, that she was going to be in Seriously Deep Shit. But weren't duties made to be broken? Haruka was a prime example.  
  
Pluto couldn't look at Serenity. She didn't want to see her big blue eyes filled with anger. She deserved to be scolded, she deserved the Queen's contempt.  
  
"Setsuna-san," Serenity looked up, big blue eyes wet with tears. Pluto prepared herself for a lashing, for "how could you?" and "didn't you know better?"  
  
"It's okay..." In that moment, Serenity looked just like the Tsukino Usagi she had always been -unconditionally loving. "I forgive you. It's okay, Setsuna-san."  
  
Pluto couldn't help it. She broke her cardinal rule, "stay detached," and began to cry.   
  
"Your Majesty, I only did it because...no matter what, Haruka is still my friend," Pluto swallowed hard, tears still falling. "But that gives me no right to do what I did! You know as well as I do what I've caused!"  
  
Serenity lept from the throne and swallowed her up in a hug. "Setsuna-san, you're only human. You just tried to do what you could for her."  
  
"We both did. Except you succeeded..."  
  
"I don't know about that," Pluto buried her nose in the top of Serenity's head - she still had inches over her queen. "I think I've only caused her more pain..."  
  
"You gave her the chance to see Michiru again," Serenity looked up. "That was the greatest gift anyone could give her, short of resurrection. And Lord knows I'd try that if I could."  
  
"The only thing I can do for her right now is commit the one act that no one else would dare try."  
  
Pluto wasn't sure she'd heard right. No, she was sure, she just didn't want her ears to get the thought to her brain, because then she'd have to believe it.  
  
"Your Majesty, you can't!" Pluto's back stiffened, and her tears seemed to dissapate as guilt and sorrow turned into righteous indignation. "Endymion-sama needs you! Small Lady needs you!"  
  
"The planet--"  
  
"No, they don't," Serenity cut in. "My daughter is perfectly capable of supporting herself. She and Mamochan...they'll be fine."  
  
"I just can't do this anymore, Setsuna-san." Her big blue eyes didn't sparkle anymore, even with the tears. She wasn't like she used to be. "It was my fault Michiru died. And when she died, Haruka died too. Do you know what it's like to look in the mirror and realize you killed two of the people you love most?"  
  
"You've been saying that for thirty years, and I never thought to blame you on any one of them," Pluto tilted Serenity's head up so they were looking eye-to-eye. "It was the Black Moon who did this. You know why the ginzuishou went missing. It wasn't as though you said, 'Well, the Senshi can handle these riots. I think I'll sit on my toosh and eat bonbons all day while they save the planet.' You TRIED, Usagi-chan. You did the only thing you knew how to do - you loved. But no matter how much you love Haruka, you can't save her this way.  
  
"I'm not going to let you do something so cowardly. It's my duty to protect you, even if that means protecting you from yourself."  
  
"Pluto, do I have to command you to leave me be?" Serenity suddenly went rigid. "I am still your Queen, and you have no right to say such things to me."  
  
"Now you're just bullshitting me." Pluto wasn't sure where the sudden reserve of confidence had come from, but she was grateful for it. "I'm not leaving you now, Usagi-chan. You can't self-destruct, because I won't let you."  
  
"I will call the guards and have you escorted out of this throne room." Serenity's tone bordered on venomous. Pluto's eyes were like determined garnet beacons. She roughly grabbed one of Serenity's wrists.  
  
"Like fucking hell you will."  
  
//Act VI, Scene II: Shattered//  
  
Haruka cursed aloud when the doorbell rang, and then stopped to think.   
Who would ring the doorbell? She never got any packages, her neighbors didn't even know her name, she definitely hadn't won any trips to the South Pacific, so what could it be?  
  
She bumped into a table as she maneuvered around in the dark room, thinking about possible scenarios. A very polite burglar? Well, she didn't have anything worth stealing, except the pieces of a broken heart...  
  
King Endymion was behind door number one when Haruka opened it. He was dressed the same way as he had the last time he visited - royal robes had been traded for a pair of khaki slacks and his favorite green jacket from days of yore. He looked like all the   
lifeforce had been sucked out of him.  
  
"To what do I owe this visit?" Haruka wanted to be snippy, but there was something in his face...This wasn't a run-of-the-mill courtesy call.  
  
"I have a message for you," Endymion said hoarsely. He sounded like he'd been run over by a truck or two. Or six. He pulled a letter out of his pocket.  
  
Haruka accepted it warily, and ran her finger under the royal seal. She slowly began to read it aloud as the King looked on sadly.  
  
"'Haruka...I ruined you. Hell, I'll do me one better - I killed you. The day you and Michiru kneeled at my feet, when we destroyed Pharaoh 90, I condemned the both of you to a miserable existence. You died for me when Galaxia came...You sacrificed yourselves for me. And I couldn't even thank you.   
  
"And that one day, when you needed me most, I failed you. And the both of you were dead in one fell swoop. I'm not fit to lead a flea circus, let alone the whole planet. I can't even protect the ones I love. The whole Earth be damned, if I can't protect the ones I love, what good am I?  
  
"I know, now you're going to say I'm a coward for what I did. I am a coward. I couldn't hold up to the guilt. I can't ever give you back the time you wasted by protecting me, but the least I can do is remove myself from this existence. The Funeral Chamber will always be open for you, so you can pay your respects to someone who was far more deserving of devotion than I ever was.  
  
"I'll always love you, Haruka, even when I'm gone.  
Tsukino Usagi"  
  
"I...don't think I understand." Haruka folded the letter, and then looked up at Endymion. He was slouched against the doorframe, pale in the moonlight that filtered through Haruka's drawn curtains.  
  
"Serenity killed herself yesterday," Endymion said wearily. "She couldn't take the guilt of  
Michiru's death anymore. The Senshi tried to stop her, but by the time we broke down the door, it was already too late."  
  
"She loved you that much." Black bangs were shading his eyes, but   
Haruka could see the tears on his cheeks. "She told me that every day, there was a moment right after she woke up where she didn't remember what had happened. And a second later, she could see the Funeral Chamber and your empty eyes...but for a moment, it was like she'd never screwed up."  
  
Haruka didn't know what to say. She didn't have any words.   
  
"I know how you feel now, Haruka-san..." The use of formalities made Haruka wince; the king sounded so tired, so defeated. "The better part of me is dead. The Senshi said she almost thought twice, thinking about me and Small Lady, but even then she still had to go through with it. She said she wasn't worthy of any of us."  
  
"I can't do this like you can, Haruka-san." Endymion clutched at his chest. "You've lived all these years, but me...I don't have anything left. I can't cry, I can't feel angry, I can't feel anything. I just feel incomplete."  
  
"The only thing that kept me going was anger, and I don't think I even have that anymore," Haruka said softly. "I...I want to say I'm sorry..."  
  
He sighed, apparently not hearing. "I can't do this..."  
  
Suddenly he shuddered, and began to fall. He toppled onto Haruka's shoulder like a dead weight. Haruka was startled, and even more so when she realized she couldn't feel his breath on her neck.  
  
"Endymion?" Haruka was feeling panicky. She felt for a pulse and found none. She set him on the ground, leaned down to listen for breathing - nothing. Starting to feel nausea creep up, she reached for the phone and began to call the hospital--  
  
"It's not going to help." Haruka dropped the phone when she saw Pluto standing at her door.   
  
"How did this happen?" She put the phone back on the hook. "I always thought they were stronger than this."  
  
"It didn't happen...yet," Pluto ammended. She knelt down and brushed Endymion's sweaty bangs away from his face. His eyes were closed, but he didn't look serene, or in pain for that matter. He just looked dead.   
  
"I stopped her. She was a split second and a knife away from doing it, but I blocaded her in the throne room until she snapped out of it." Pluto sighed. "But believe me, it wasn't fun. There was a lot of swearing - both on her part and mine. The guards were very nervous, especially after I kicked them out. She finally realized that she'd cause more people more pain by ending it that way, although her guilt is still as strong as ever."  
  
"So if this didn't happen, then what did I just see?" Haruka looked from the letter, to the king, and then to Pluto.  
  
Pluto looked away. "Well, letting you go back to Michiru caused a lot of problems. I don't regret it for a minute, mind you, but there's going to be a lot of repercussions. This was one possible future that doesn't actually exist anymore. Yet."  
  
"I...see," although Haruka really didn't see it at all. "So where do we go from here?"  
  
"Do you want to prevent this?" Pluto asked, point blank. "Serenity might try it again, and I might not be able to cuss her out of it."  
  
Haruka thought. "I always said I hated her, and I meant it then.   
...she'd really do this?"  
  
"Yes. If Serenity thought it would make you happy, she'd do it." Pluto looked Haruka straight in the eye. "You still mean the world to her. If she thought killing herself would bring you some kind of closure, we'd have to remove every gun and knife from the palace."  
  
"She was always so caring, even when I didn't deserve it..." Haruka touched her face. She hadn't cried in thirty years. She'd been so devoid of emotion, but now, realizing that love had been there all along and she was too much of a hotheaded fool to see it...  
  
The possibly-non-existent future faded around the two women, leaving nothing but a white void. 


	10. Act VI, Interlude II: The Past

"I don't like this ending."  
~the Duke  
  
//Act VI, Interlude II: The Past//  
  
~*~Thirty years ago, Black Moon Riots~*~  
  
"Stop me if I'm wrong here, but weren't we supposed to have a nice, easy life after Chaos?" Uranus asked nonchalantly as she hacked apart another Nemesis Droid with her Space Sword.  
  
"This is coming from the person who spent all of last week whining and moaning about how the most exciting aspect of life was now her lavender bath bombs," Saturn said wryly from behind her.  
  
"I wasn't complaining!" Uranus protested, "I was making a statement of fact!"  
  
"In an unbelievably whinny tone of voice."  
  
Uranus shot a wounded look at Neptune. Neptune for her part, ignored her lover's pitiful expression and cheerfully blasted a Droid with an overly-enthusiastic "Deep Submerge!"  
  
"You're enjoying this?"  
  
Neptune's smile was bordering on feral, "Aren't you?"  
  
Uranus smirked, "I'd prefer to be with you and the bath bombs…"  
  
"Haruka-papa!" Saturn yelped while cleaving through another Droid who had been bent on death, destruction, and mayhem, "SOME of us don't want to hear about it!"  
  
"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Uranus mumbled and raised her Sword skywards, "Space Sword Blaster!"  
  
All the Droids within a thirty-foot radius of the three Senshi disintegrated with high-pitched shrieks.  
  
Neptune daintily stepped away from the puddle of goo that had been making for her shoes and lowered her Mirror in disappointment, "Isn't that overdoing it, Haruka?"  
  
Uranus shrugged and sheathed her Sword, "We have other things to do today."  
  
Saturn winced again. Uranus caught the wince and bopped her daughter lightly on the head, "BESIDES that!" she sighed in exasperation, "Now who's being a pervert?"  
  
"It's not my fault!" Saturn said indignantly, "Ever other phrase out of your mouth is a damned innuendo!"  
  
"Children, children, children! We DO have other things to do today!" Neptune scolded playfully. She tapped at the small headset that was now tangled in her hair, "Status, Mercury?"  
  
"Your sector is clear!" came Mercury's tiny voice, "The others are holding their own as well…however Sector 001 is..." there was a curious pause, "Neptune, hold for a minute..."  
  
Neptune crinkled her brow in confusion. Mercury had placed her on call-waiting in the middle of an attack? Wait, call-waiting still existed??  
  
Something was wrong.  
  
Neptune's grip tightened on her Mirror and all the playfulness dissolved from her demeanor. Uranus caught the slight change, and her Sword was back out. She roughly elbowed Saturn, and the other Senshi's posture also tensed in anticipation.  
  
"Michiru-san!" Mercury screamed into her ear, "Small Lady is missing!"  
  
Neptune's eyes widened, "The Princess--?"  
  
"And the ginzuishou!"  
  
"Oh my God..." the Mirror clattered from her suddenly numb fingers. There was an unhealthy sounding CRUNCH! and an ugly crack was suddenly running across the Mirror's face.  
  
"Michiru?" Uranus whispered.  
  
"The Princess is missing," Neptune managed to croak out, "As well as the ginzuishou."  
  
The other two Senshi paled.  
  
"ChibiUsa," Saturn whispered hoarsely, "Did the Black Moon--?"  
  
"The main fleet is advancing on the Crystal Palace!" Mercury was shouting into Neptune's ear, "Please fall back! We need back-up! Michiru-san--!"  
  
The connection was severed with a burst of static. Neptune yelped and pulled the headset off.  
  
"We need to get back," she said breathlessly and dashed off, leaving behind her broken Mirror. She didn't wait to see if the other two were following. She didn't have the time.  
  
How could this have happened?? Neptune mused as she frantically darted across the Palace grounds, Everything was going so well! How had the Black Moon managed to kidnap Small Lady and manage to steal the ginzuishou?! How could they get past eight Senshi??  
  
It doesn't matter now, she reminded herself briskly, They're here and they need to be defeated.  
  
Defeat the Enemy, protect the Royal Family. Yes. That was her duty.  
  
Something snagged Neptune's ankle and she fell with a cry. She landed roughly on hands and knees. Gravel and small debris bit into her flesh, but she paid it no mind. She had to get to the Palace! She didn't have time to be tripping over her shoe ribbons! Neptune roughly pulled herself back to her feet, turned to see what she had tripped over—  
  
--and paled.  
  
She had tripped over herself.  
  
Her body…she had tripped over her own body…her own dead body…  
  
Neptune fell back to her knees. She had to be imagining things! She had to! Maybe this was one of the other Senshi and the stress was making her hallucinate! She wasn't dead! She couldn't be dead! She was right here! She wasn't on her back, staring glassily into the sky! She wasn't crushed under a chunk of Palace wall! Her blood wasn't soaking into the earth around her because she hadn't been severed in half! This couldn't be her! It couldn't be!  
  
Neptune reached out with a trembling fingers. She didn't know what she was doing—maybe she was planning to brush some stray teal strands out of the…stranger's…face. But her fingers touched and Neptune quickly withdrew her hand. This was a real body. This was her. She was dead. Dead.  
  
Neptune felt herself begin to tremble. She had seen death before. She had caused death. She had been dead before. But this! This wasn't the way it was supposed to be! She wasn't supposed to be staring at her mutilated torso with a battle ranging around her—no! Just…just no! It wasn't supposed to be this way!  
  
To her surprise, Neptune began to cry.  
  
Overhead, one of the Nemesis ships fired. A decent chunk of Palace wall was blown clean off and smaller fragments of debris began to rain down. Neptune covered her head with her arms and whimpered as shards of palace bit into her.   
  
She couldn't be dead. No! She couldn't be! Who would take care of Hotaru? Who would protect the Family? God, what would happen to Haruka??  
  
"Michiru!"  
  
Neptune looked up through red-rimmed eyes to see Uranus and Saturn running towards her. She quickly looked back down—the apparition, whatever it had been, was gone. Neptune should have been relieved.  
  
She was scared as hell.  
  
"Haruka…" she whispered hoarsely, but didn't move.  
  
"Michiru!" Uranus knelt breathlessly before her, "Are you alright?" and then, noticing the tear track's staining Neptune's cheeks, "What's wrong? What happened? Are you hurt?"  
  
"Haruka…" Neptune whispered again and then held her arms out like a child seeking comfort from a nightmare. Uranus quickly wrapped her arms around her and held her close.  
  
Neptune started to cry harder, "It was…it was…oh, god, Haruka…all the blood, so red…staining everything…" she clutched at Uranus helplessly, "Hold me, please!"  
  
"I'm holding you," Uranus whispered soothingly into her ear.  
  
Neptune clung to her, still sobbing.  
  
"I'll go on ahead," Saturn volunteered quietly. At Uranus' wordless nod, she brandished her Glaive and started jogging back towards the Palace. Just a few paces away from the embracing couple was a large chunk of debris. Saturn winced. If Michiru-mama hadn't paused…  
  
"I'd never leave you, please remember that and hold me Haruka!" Neptune pleaded hysterically, "I can't feel anything! Hold me!"  
  
"Michiru, I'm holding you!" Uranus repeated a bit more forcefully. She was worried. She didn't understand any of Neptune's babble of blood or abandonment, but something had obviously frightened her. And if was able to frightened Sailor Neptune…  
  
Uranus swallowed heavily. Dear gods, what had Michiru seen in the few moments she had been alone??  
  
Uranus had a feeling she didn't want to know…  
  
~*~Present Day, Crystal Tokyo~*~  
  
…the possibly-non-existent future faded around the two women, leaving nothing but a white void…  
  
Setsuna collapsed with a cry of pain.   
  
"Setsuna?" alarmed, Haruka kneeled next to her, but didn't touch. Rule number one when dealing with injured Time Guardians: don't touch them. You never know what realm they may accidentally zap you to.  
  
"Oh…goddd…" Setsuna groaned through clenched teeth as she clutched at her abdomen, "Nooo…"  
  
"What's wrong?" Haruka asked, a mite more panicked then she would admit. She yelped as a Setsuna's finely manicured hand clamped onto her arm.  
  
"Something's wrong…" Setsuna hissed and cried out again, "The time line…something's wrong…"  
  
"You told me that!"   
  
"No!" she gave her head a rough shake, "The consequences…are reaching back farther than I thought…it's falling apart, Haruka…  
  
"The time line is falling apart." 


	11. Act VI, Scene III: And we all fall down

"I think there might be a small hitch."  
~Toulouse  
  
//Act VI, Scene III: And we all fall down…//  
  
It was almost as if the entire cosmos had struck an ugly chord.  
  
Sequestered in her chambers, nursing the bruises that Pluto had bestowed upon her, Serenity felt it.  
  
Wistfully flipping through a very old scrapbook, gazing at pictures she hadn't gazed upon for hundreds of years, Jupiter felt it.  
  
Trying to soothe her temper by meditating before the Palace's sacred fire, Mars felt it.  
  
Guarding a Gate that she had absolutely no idea how to guard, Venus saw it. A white hot light had suddenly engulfed the Time Gate and before she could summon help, she had been engulfed as well.  
  
Reality…twisted.  
  
And shattered.  
  
As if some omnipotent being had been endowed with a massive hammer, Reality twisted, and shattered, leaving nothing but an eternal white void circling a wild electric vortex. The shards of Reality and the various people trapped in said-shards were sucked in and trapped.  
  
Haruka could have really cared less at the moment.  
  
Setsuna was dying.   
  
Haruka cradled the trembled Senshi in her arms and held her close, "What do you mean 'the timeline's falling apart'?" she whispered hoarsely, "How can it do that? Why is it doing that??"  
  
"I—don't---I don't know," Setsuna managed to grind out through clenched teeth, "I don't know—know why…seeing her—threw something that—wasn't supposed to be thrown—" Setsuna shrieked and clutched desperately at Haruka, "You need to—fixit!"  
  
Haruka felt her face blanche, "I can't fix it!" she yelped indignantly, "I don't know how to fix a wayward timestream! I'm just the creepy neighbor in my apartment complex!"  
  
"You're a—Sailor Senshi!" Setsuna spat, "Figure it out!"  
  
"I'm not a soldier anymore!" Haruka reminded her harshly, "Serenity probably still has my henshin wand, not to mention my Talisman! I can't just belt out a 'Uranus Planet Power' and World Shake everything into normalness! You have to help me, Puu!"   
  
Setsuna chuckled as she grimaced in pain, "The Power to alter Time is taboo, Haruka…" she smiled wistfully, "Remember?"  
  
Mistress 9 and the helicopter. Ohh yesss.  
  
"You don't need a henshin—god!" Setsuna clawed at her chest, as if she could tear away the energies ripping her innards to pieces, "Just fix--!" she shrieked once more and suddenly fell limp.  
  
"Nooo…" Haruka gave Setsuna's shoulders a slight shake, but to no avail. Setsuna was…dead. Her empty crimson eyes stared up at Haruka, willing her to do something constructive, but not providing any inspiration.   
  
"Fix it", Setsuna had urged her. How in the fuck was she supposed to "fix" something she didn't understand in the first place?! It wasn't like she had a massive Time Key to wave around when the going got tough! Actually, right now all she had was a wallet in her back pocket with three forms of I.D. Not the most promising weapon to take on the mysteries of Time with.  
  
"Fuck," Haruka murmured as she lay Setsuna down onto what passed for ground, "What have we screwed up, Puu?" she asked the body staring up at her.  
  
In answer, Setsuna's body exploded into a flurry of golden bubbles and flittered away into nothingness.  
  
However, in her place lay the Time Staff, in all its six-foot, Garnet-Orbed glory.  
  
Well. It was a start at least.  
  
With a confidence she most certainly was not feeling, Haruka reached out and closed her fingers around the Staff's hilt.  
  
And at her fingertips, it began.  
  
A golden light ensnared her hand, and then her wrist, and worked its way upwards until it had engulfed Haruka's entire body. She could feel her civilian clothing melding…melding into something heavier and…metal? Yes, metal…a very light metal…like…like…  
  
Armor.  
  
The light faded, leaving Haruka befuddled and empty-handed. The Time Staff had faded as well. And yes, her civilian clothing had been replaced by a light weight…armor.  
  
Something out of a fairy tale…she mused to herself, I look like a dashing prince about to slay a dragon…or a knock-off of Endymion-sama…sans the cape.*  
  
Haruka reached for the sheath dangling at her side, and swore when she realized it was empty. Of course it would be empty. She had left the damned Space Sword in the Funeral Chamber, after all.  
  
What now?  
  
She had the outfit, but she had no weapon nor any clear path of action. No one to rescue, no Enemy…  
  
No one to rescue.  
  
The timeline was falling apart and she had nothing to do.  
  
A tendril of energy whipped out, coiled around her ankle, and pulled her down. Haruka swore, but she had to purchase nor a weapon. All she could do was be dragged into that rather nasty looked vortex that had suddenly appeared…  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
*=Yes, I KNOW Naoko gave Haruka-san a pretty blue princess dress to frolick around in when the need suited her. And as much as I adore Naoko's art-work…there's just something about Haruka in a sexy gown that screams "OOC!!!! OOC!!!!! THIS IS WRONG!!!! OOC!!!!!" at me. Besides…in her first manga stints, she appeared in a Tuxedo Kamen-knock off. Granted, this isn't based on the manga…I don't know WHAT this is based off of, actually…but if she can frolick around in the tuxedo, why not frolick around in the armor? I /like/ Endymion's outfit!  
  
~Mars 


	12. Act VII, Scene I: Passing Judgment

"Seasons may change, winter to spring But I love you until the end of time."  
"Come What May"  
  
Act VII, Scene 1: Passing Judgement  
  
The Nothing was angry.  
  
Haruka felt as though she were being put through the shredder. Ribbons of white energy were whipping out and striking against her, managing to burn through her armor to fry exposed skin. Her hands now little more than slabs of stringy, singed meat from protecting her face from the assault. And the noise! The Silence was drowning out her pained screams and was beginning to drive her mad! Was this what had been happening to Setsuna in her final moments? How had she endured it?!  
  
Haruka had thought she had known what pain was. She had thought she had managed to overcome it! Eudial's Deathbuster Rifle, Galaxia's bracelets...  
  
But this...gods, this! This blew everything she had ever experienced away.  
  
Haruka could feel her armor beginning to melt under the attacks.  
  
I'm not going to make it! she screamed to herself.  
  
She didn't care. Death would mean she wouldn't hurt anymore. It didn't matter that she had failed her final mission...she just didn't want to hurt anymore!  
  
"Michiru..." she was surprised she could hear her whisper above the chaos assaulting her, "I'm glad I could see you again..." she sighed shakily and waited for the end.  
  
Everything stopped.  
  
The energy assaults, the Silence, the light was simply...gone.  
  
And so was she.  
  
Haruka tried to grope around in the blackness for a purchase or a reassurance that something was out there, but she had no hands. She had no limbs. Hell, she had no body! She was aware of herself but yet she wasn't. She felt...noncorporeal. Disconnected.  
  
Was she dead? Haruka didn't know. She didn't feel like the last time she had when she was dead…of course she didn't remember much of that charming experience from when she and Michiru had faded away after betraying Galaxia...  
  
What in the hell HAD she and Setsuna DONE to the timeline?!  
  
"Sailor Uranus...Princess of Castle Miranda...Soldier of the Outer Solar System...Guardian to Neo-Queen Serenity..."  
  
Damn that's extensive, Haruka found herself thinking idly.  
  
"You have committed a grave violation of the Laws of Time. How plead you?"  
  
"Who are you?" Haruka asked instead. If she still possessed a body, she would've winced. Here she was, being Judged, and she was asking for ID. That couldn't be a precursor for anything good.  
  
The voice, however, was nonplussed, "How plead you?"  
  
Haruka remained silent. Was there really anything to say? She knew what she had done, the voice knew, why should they bother with the formalities of-  
  
Some...thing...flashed through every essence of her being and the pain she had felt earlier was no comparison to this. She howled in sheer animal agony. In a split second decision, she swore to confess to anything-ANYTHING-just to make it stop. But it consumed her too thoroughly. Coherent thought came and went in the space of a nanosecond. Only her horrible screams remained, echoing through the void.  
  
And, of course, just like that, it stopped. Again.  
  
"How plead you?" asked the voice in the same dark tones.  
  
Haruka gasped and sucked air into her nonexistent lungs, "G...g...g'lty..." she wheezed and waited for the pain to start anew.  
  
Much to her relief, nothing came.  
  
Much to her horror, nothing came.  
  
Haruka felt as though she were being scrutinized. Ridiculous really. She didn't have a physical form so what the hell were they studying?? Her flippancy didn't pay off. She-her soul?-felt incredibly naked under that unseen glare.  
  
"You have tried to re-order Time for one woman. You have killed the Gate Keeper. You are destroying the Universe as it is known. For one woman."  
  
"I didn't kill Setsuna!" Haruka snapped at the nothingness. She felt some of the old fury creep back in and she hungrily grabbed for it, "It was her idea! She accepted her fate!"  
  
"The Gates of Time have been destroyed," the voice continued on, "Your greed has shattered the Everything. You must be condemned."  
  
"I'm already condemned!" Haruka screamed back, "I've been condemned! Damned! Whatever you want to call it! You took her away from me and I don't care-"  
  
Haruka never had a chance to finish. She suddenly found herself in physical form again-scorch marks and everything. Her hands were manacled above her head. She was effectively tethered to a classic dungeon wall. However, the scene before her was not yet another classic wall. Rather, she saw the Crystal Palace and Sailor Neptune running. She saw the laser blast. She saw the chunk of wall. And she saw as it slowly, ever so slowly arced through the air and slammed into Neptune.  
  
She heard Neptune's brief cry-a cross between an "urg" and a "hyork".  
  
Delicate droplets of blood splashed up, catching the light.  
  
Neptune lay still-and the scene faded into an instant repeat.  
  
The Universe falling apart and bodiless voices had managed to create this bit of horror for her. Lovely.  
  
Haruka screeched and yanked at her manacles. Nothing. No give. Neptune was crushed again to be replaced by Neptune running.  
  
"Michiru!" Haruka screamed. How much of this could she take before she went mad? Or was she already there? Was she really simply laying in the Medical Wing, fevered and delusional? Did it matter? Gods, she couldn't take more of this... "Michiru!!"  
  
Neptune tripped.  
  
More exactly, Neptune tripped over her own corpse.  
  
Haruka sharply drew in her breath. Could Time really be falling that much apart? And could she possibly take advantage of it?  
  
Haruka yanked again, even as she saw herself run to Neptune and hold her close. Setsuna had told her to fix the timeline...if only she could get loose, she had a good idea of how to begin...

* * *

Yeah...um...so it's been over a year. I apologize profusely. I went to college and got a job and the result is "NO LIFE OUTSIDE THE REAL WORLD." And it really sucks. Why didn't anyone tell me being a grown-up would suck so much?  
  
I stumbled across this...it was incomplete so I did what I could with it. I can't promise any regular updates because I honestly don't know when I'll have the time...however, fear not, I like this particular fic way too much to just leave it to the wolves.  
  
Thank you for all the kind words and the encouragement. It DOES help a writer to know her work is appreciated. Stay well, everyone, and hope for the best.  
  
Mars 


	13. Act VII, Scene II: the Ending

"But Christian loves me! He loves me, Harold. He _loves _me. And that's worth everything."

Satine

------------------------------------

Act VII, Scene II: the Ending of the Game

------------------------------------

The scene disappeared in a whiplash of black energy and Haruka found herself free of not only her shackles, but once more of her body. Apparently, even Nothingness was no match for the complete destruction of the timeline and existence. She and Setsuna had managed to wreck a havoc that the Senshi's Enemies had only dreamt of. What's a conquered planet compared to the deletion of everything?

Neat.

Will I continue on as a bodiless mind or am I due to blink into nothingness? Haruka idly wondered as she fell(?) through the empty space. She didn't care about the answer. She had seen Neptune survive. For thirty long years, she had wanted to see nothing else. Somewhere, in some disjointed shard of time, Michiru had lived.

She lived.

And that was all Haruka really cared about. Time (oh, that was a laugh) to go and all. If her arms were still corporeal, Haruka would have spread them in acceptance.

Take me, you bastard, she willed. I'm tired.

Something big clamped on to her hand. Something big, green and slimy. Something big, green, slimy and equipped with sizable talons. Haruka tried to jerk her now-existent hand back, but the thing had a deathgrip. She couldn't get loose.

"Are you satisfied?" something screamed at her in a blast of hot, foul air, "You've ruined everything!"

"W-w-what?" Haruka was still trying to adjust to her sudden re-existence.

"One woman!" the thing continued, "You did this for one woman! The lives you've ruined! The havoc you've caused! How could she have been worth this, Miranda princess?"

Didn't I just get yelled at for this? tumbled through Haruka's mind as she found herself screaming back, "I love her! What else could I have done? I love her!"

Whatever was holding her hand was not impressed by her reply, "There is a Plan, Miranda princess. It is not to you to decide to change it at your whim. You must be a Player. We have a Guardian to keep Players in line."

"Had," Haruka muttered, "You keep killing her, too."

"Pluto is flawed," came the answer, "I will find another Guardian—one who will maintain an impersonal view of the universe. Providing I can put back together what you've destroyed."

Haruka narrowed her eyes, "Who are you?" she demanded.

There was a pause.

"I am the Judge. That should be enough for you. I decide who shall continue to play in the Game. The Neptune soldier is not a Player. It is not up to you to change my judgment. She lost."

"No," Haruka said, "No. I won't allow it—I can't allow it! She's not a chess piece! She is Michiru goddamn-Kaiou! She's—mine! Can't you understand?"

"She is not significant."

"She is to me!"

"Your perception is flawed, Miranda princess. What do you know of the nature of running the universe? What do you—"

"Shut up!" Haruka screamed to their mutual surprise, "I don't care about your fucking game, I don't care about your fucking Mission and I don't care for your fucking lack of judgement!"

Something dead within her sparked. Haruka grasped the ember and smiled as she felt the flow of power. With her free hand, she clamped onto the gross claw clinging to her.

"You picked wrong," she growled, "World Shaking!"

As she felt her very real flesh begin to melt in the midst of her own power, Haruka began to smile. It was finally, FINALLY ending. Maybe the entire universe, maybe just her own existence. As per usual, she didn't care.

Her armor turned to slag. Her hair flash-fried from her scalp. Her skin ran down in rivulets. Someone, somewhere, screamed.

" . . . haruka . . . "

Delicate, ghostly fingers traced Haruka's cheek.

" . . . you idiot . . . "

Haruka grasped at those fingers with the remnants of a goopy hand, "Don't leave me," she rasped.

" . . . i won't . . ."

A cool sea breeze rustled by, through the energy barrier and caressed Haruka's frying body.

"Michiru," Haruka breathed.

There was a loud bang and curiously enough, the sound of a slamming door.

------------------------

Hiii! I live! And I apologize for this overly-melodramatic snippet, but I'm (admittedly) out of practice. I almost left a post stating that I had abandoned this fic, but instead it turned into an adjective laden snippet.

The end is near. Thank god.

Thank you all for your support and kind words. I'm sorry I'm so terrible with updates. Real Life keeps eating me.

the Risu formerly known as Mars


	14. Act VIII, Scene I, II & III:

* * *

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." 

"Nature Boy"

Act VII, Scene I: Neptune

* * *

_You idiot. You did all this for me? Aino-san is dead. Did you know that? She was the first, before Time fell apart. She was so cute, back in the day. Was I jealous on that day when she and your "little kitten" stalked you? Hmm. Maybe. But I always knew where your heart lay. Always._

_Oh, how I've missed you._

_It's not fair, Haruka. You've always been in your own world. You are the wind and nothing will hold you—not duty, not Serenity and not even me. What made you think that this would be a good idea? What made you think that this would be a feasible idea? Why would you not admit that it was my fault? I was a Sailor senshi—I should have been faster. I should have seen that chunk of debris. I could've dodged it. I could've dodged it. I could've, if I had just looked. . ._

_I'm so lonely, here, Haruka. _

_I want to touch you again. Run my fingers through that fop of hair on your head. Ride with you in your car. I want to feel your warmth. I want to feel your fingers entwined with mine. I want to touch you again, Haruka. But more than anything, I want you to kiss me. Kiss me, Haruka, just one more time. Kiss me._

_Kiss me . . ._

_Instead you've destroyed the cosmos. How could I mean so much to you that you would sacrifice everything and everyone just for one more day with me? I'm only one person, Haruka. How could I mean so much to you? You've faced Judgment and Punishment and now, Death. Oh, Haruka. You're dead even in this world. Your soul has fled even beyond the afterlife. _

_You're gone._

_It's not fair, Haruka. Don't leave me here all alone. Don't go where I can't follow._

_Kiss me, Haruka. Kiss me. Just once more, please. Kiss me . . . let me see your light . . ._

_Haruka . . . I hear music._

Scene II: Uranus

* * *

_She had gone from the Nothing to non-existence. She wasn't even dead. She was lost. But for a moment, everything had been fine. And knowledge of that moment made fading into non-existence bearable. There would be no miraculous ginzuishou saves or returned star seeds. This time, her soul had fled and there was no return._

_And yet she could hear music._

_Faintly, a familiar, tinkling melody surrounded her. Her heart calmed. Her soul paused in its flight from Everything. She knew that melody. But from where? _

_She felt a slight weight against her neck. Haruka's eyes widened. She was non-existent yet she could feel—see--! What the---? She raised a trembling hand to her throat and felt a fine chain. She traced the chain down until her fingers touched a locket in the shape of a star. This is where the music was coming from. She tripped the catch and the locket sprang open. What had been a quiet, soothing tune from a music box suddenly engulfed everything. Haruka felt herself burning—but not in agony. She felt pure._

_How? she wondered dreamily as she lost touch with herself. She was dissolving, spinning, being absorbed, SOMETHING, but it was okay. She felt peaceful._

_She hadn't expected an answer to her question, but one came anyway. A soothing, motherly voice she hadn't heard for so many lifetimes:_

"_It was a gift from a princess to her beloved. They wanted you to have it."_

_

* * *

_  
Scene III: Moonlight Densetsu

The door slammed rather loudly and Serenity blinked awake. She was on the floor, in the Funeral Chamber. At least she assumed it was the Funeral Chamber. Something wasn't right, but what? Besides the fact that she was alive and well when her last memory had been of the timeline dissolving? But no…everything felt right. She could feel Minako, Rei, Ami, Makoto . . . Setsuna . . . they were fine. As per usual, a miracle occurred. But what?

Neptune's quartz tomb was gone. And instead of the horrible silence that had always permeated the Chamber, a faint melody Serenity had not heard for so many years was playing.

Blinking back tears, Serenity shakily pulled herself to her feet. Yes, the quartz casing was gone, yet Neptune still lay on the platform. Haruka stood next to her, in the tattered and melted remains of a knight's armor. She held one of Neptune's gloved hands in her own. Around Haruka's neck was—oh, god, the Star Locket.

Serenity felt a tear slide down her cheek. The Star Locket and—oh, Serenity desperately hoped she wasn't hallucinating . . .

Michiru's eyes were open and she was smiling. "Haruka," she whispered, "I followed the music . . . "

_. . . shinjite iru no mirakuru romansu . . ._

/final curtain fall/

* * *

And three and a half years after I start this damn thing, I finish it. I hope it was worth the wait. I apologize for taking so long but in the past three years, I've graduated high school, graduated community college, gotten engaged and am graduating from university in two weeks so I can go to graduate school.

Thank you so much for your support and kind words. I don't remember where this fanfic was going when I started, but I'm satisfied with the ending. If you must throw eggs, I understand. But thank you for your patience.

I don't know if I'll be conjuring up anymore fanfiction adventures. It's a lot harder to dive into fanfiction when you hit the scary GROWN UP world, I've found. I wish you all well in life and once again, thank you for your reviews.

Risu


End file.
